Brandon Sakebow, 23, was originally from Pelican Lake. (Facebook/Debra Sakebow)

By Nigel Maxwell

Missing persons

Remains of missing Sask. man found in B.C.

Apr 29, 2021 | 4:00 PM

After more than a year of waiting for answers, the family of Brandon Sakebow has received one.

RCMP informed the family last week they found human remains in Mission, B.C. On Wednesday morning, the family received confirmation of the identity. Debra Sakebow, Brandon’s aunt, told paNOW they were not surprised by the news, given the fact RCMP mentioned Brandon’s shoe was found.

“We already knew and are now we are all just trying to take it in,” she said.

Sakebow, 23, was living in Abbotsford at the time of his disappearance March 21, 2020, and had a job as a rebar worker. Just a week prior, the halfway house where he was living burned to the ground. The day before his disappearance, Sakebow called his mom and gave no indication anything was wrong, only indicating that he was with some friends. He also told his mother he would call her back later, but that call never came.

A few days later, RCMP found his cell phone, bag and clothes in a stolen van found in Mission. Due to COVID restrictions, jumping on a plane and flying to B.C. is much more difficult. Debra Sakebow acknowledged the family is contacting funeral homes and looking for a solution.

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“The family wants to go to B.C. to follow him home and I don’t know how to go about that,” Debra Sakebow said.

On Saturday March 20, 2021, the Sakebow family hosted an awareness walk and candlelight vigil outside of the Spiritwood RCMP detachment. The family would have done the walk in Mission, BC, if not for the pandemic and the travel restrictions.

A GoFundMe was also created to assist the family with travel expenses.

A 24 km walk and vigil was held last month for Brandon Sakebow. (Submitted photo/Debra Sakebow)

The Mission Serious Crime Unit has had up to seven investigators working on this case, and Thursday, a spokesperson for RCMP “E” provided paNOW with a statement.

“The Mission RCMP is working closely with the B.C. Coroner’s Service to determine the man’s cause of death. Given this matter is subject to an independent investigation by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) BC, no further details can be released.”

According to a media release late Wednesday from the IIO, information provided by the RCMP, indicated that on March 21, a man (Sakebow) was arrested, lodged in RCMP cells overnight and released later that day. On April 6, 2021, human remains were found in a “forested” area in Mission.

Because Sakebow was in police custody prior to his disappearance, the job of the IIO’s office is to investigate if anything may have happened while Sakebow was in custody that may have contributed to his death. Chief civilian director Ron MacDonald was unable to provide any sort of timeline for their investigation.

“Our goal is to always be as timely as possible, but we also have to do a thorough and complete investigation,” he said.

The IIO is asking any person with relevant information to please contact the IIO on the witness Line toll-free at 1-855-446-8477 or via the contact form on the iiobc.ca website.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell